In a pan, heat a spoon of ghee and fry cashews till golden brown. Keep aside.

In the same pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee, add pepper. When pepper splutters, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, grated ginger and hing. Pour it over the rice. Add salt as per taste and mix well. Garnish with cashews. Add the remaining ghee while serving.

In a pan, heat oil and ghee, add onions and saute till transparent. Then add potatoes, peas and mix well. Add sambhar powder, turmeric powder and salt. Sprinkle some water and cover with a lid till cooked. Now take out the lid, add garam masala powder , mix well and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the cooked rice , little salt and mix well carefully without breaking the rice. This is an easy to make lunch box recipe.

Make a paste of coconut, saunf, khus khus, cinnamon, cashew, garlic and ginger as mentioned above.

In a pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, turmeric powder, hing and then the onions and fry till transparent. Now add the cut tomatoes and saute well till oil leaves the sides. Add salt and the ground paste and bring it to a boil until thick. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Cut brinjals into finger-long pieces and put it in salted water to prevent blackening.

Cut onions finely.

Grind together, green chillies, poppy seeds, and coconut to a paste.

Soak tamarind in lukewarm water and extract juice from it. Add chilli powder, and ground paste to it.

In a kadai, heat oil add onions and fry till transparent. Now take out the brinjals from water and add to it. Add salt and saute well till half-cooked. Add the tamarind water to it and bring it to a boil till the raw smell of the tamarind goes and thick.

This is a very different and tasty side dish. This goes well with chappathis and pooris.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Cut brinjals into lengthy pieces and put in salted water to prevent blackening.

In a kadai, heat oil, and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add urad dhal, turmeric powder, hing and fry till golden brown. Now take out brinjals from water and add to it. Add salt, chilli powder and fry well till golden brown.

Wash and cut drumsticks into finger-long pieces and boil in water with turmeric powder and salt. Do not throw the excess water.

In a kadai, heat a spoon of oil and fry the coriander seeds, methi seeds, gram dhal, hing and dry red chillies till golden brown. Add scraped coconut and grind it in a mixie to a thick paste(slightly coarse) using little water.

In the same kadai, heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add curry leaves and pour in the boiled drumstick with the water. Now add the sambhar powder,required amount of salt, and tamarind extract. Allow it to boil till the raw smell of tamaring goes. Now, add the mashed toor dhal and ground paste. Let it boil till thick. Transfer it to a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

This can be had with rice(with a spoon of ghee) and can also be used with idli and dosa.

In a kadai, heat a spoon of oil and fry the items mentioned for powder and dry grind in a mixie.

In the same kadai, heat oil, fry the onions till transparent, add the mixed vegetables, little salt and when half done add the tamarind extract and boil till the raw smell goes. Now add the cooked rice and dhal. Add salt and also the powdered items. Mix well. Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Top with ghee and serve hot with deep fried javvarisi vadaam or papads.

In a kadai, heat oil, add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. When they splutter, add sambhar powder, rasam powder and stir fry for two seconds and add the mashed moong dhal, soya sauce and boiled cauliflower. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Soak rajma and dried peas overnight. Pressure cook the soaked cereals with salt for 8 whistles and simmer for half and hour. After the pressure is released, take out and mash it slightly.

Boil the potatoes, peel the skin and mash well.

Grind together onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic to a paste.

In a pressure pan, heat oil, add the ground paste and fry till oil leaves the sides. Now add chilli powder, dhania powder and salt and fry for a while. Now add the mashed cereals, potatoes and garam masala. Mix well, add a cup of water and again pressure cook for 2 whistles.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with phulka ,chappathi, or poori.

In a kadai, heat oil and ghee and add cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves and dry red chillies. When they splutter add mint leaves fry till they shrink and add chopped onions and fry till transparent. Now add shelled peas, and little salt. Sprinkle some water and cover with a lid till the peas are cooked. Now, add the cooked rice and little salt for the rice and mix well without breaking the grains. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

In a kadai, heat a spoon of ghee and fry the cashew and raisins till golden brown and keep aside.

In the same kadai, fry the rawa till you feel a nice aroma. Keep it aside.

Again, in the same kadai, boil water and gradually add rawa and stir it quickly so that no lumps are formed. Cover with a lid and allow it to get cooked. Now add sugar and ghee stir for a while. In a spoon of water dissolve the kesari powder and add to it. Cook for 3 more minutes. Add the fried cashews and raisins.

In a utensil, squeeze a tomato, put tamarind(you can also extract pulp from tamarind and add), salt, rasam powder, and hing , add a cup of water and bring it to a boil till the raw smell of the rasam powder goes. Now add mashed dhal, two more cups of water and mix well. Boil for just two minutes till frothy. Turn off the stove.

Pressure cook toor dhal with a pinch of turmeric powder and mash it well.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds and when it splutters add toor dhal, hing, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute till golden brown. Now, add the vegetables and saute for a while. Pour in the tamarind extract alongwith salt and sambhar powder. Allow it to boil till the vegetables are cooked and the raw smell of tamarind goes. Now, add the cooked and mashed toor dhal, mix well and let it boil for sometime till thick. Transfer it to a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

In a pan, heat oil, temper with mustard seeds, jeera, and chillies. Add curry leaves, stir fry and add pressure cooked items with salt. Let it come to a boil. Switch off the stove, transfer it to a bowl and squeeze a lime and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.

In a pan, heat oil, and temper with cumin seeds. Add turmeric powder, hing, tomatoes and fry for a while. When oil leaves sides, add palak, sambhar powder and salt. Mix well,pour half a cup of water and cover with a lid. Add toor dhal and when cooked and thick, transfer it to bowl.

In a kadai, heat little oil, add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add cumin seeds. Now add tomatoes, curry leaves, turmeric powder, hing and fry for a while till the raw smell of the tomato goes. Now add the chopped vegetables and salt and mix well. Sprinkle some water and cover it with a lid till it gets cooked. Add the boiled toor dhal, mix well and stir it for some time. Now your kootu is ready. Garnish with coriander leaves.

In a pressure pan, heat oil and butter. Add cinnamon sticks, cardamom and cloves. Then add the ground paste and fry till oil leaves the sides. Now add the water, salt and garam masala powder. When water boils, add the peas. Now, strain the rice thoroughly and add to the water. Mix well. Cover it and cook for 3 whistles. When the pressure is released, take out the rice and mix well carefully without breaking the grains. Transfer it to a bowl or hot-pack and serve hot with roasted masala-papads or any raitha of your choice.